Slash and Burn
by AllRoadsLeadTo
Summary: A madman decides to play the Worm Choose Your Own Adventure, and wakes up reincarnated as not just anyone, but one of the most notorious parahumans of all, Jack Slash, leader of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
1. Chapter 1

This piece of insanity by the Worm CYOA stories that are circulating on Space Battles and Sufficient Velocity, as well as a Jack Slash Peggy Sue story I saw. Please enjoy responsibly.

_**Slash and Burn (Worm CYOA)**_

**Installment 1:**

Entry: Reincarnation

Difficulty: Hard (+3)

Powers: Eidolon (-2) and Power Manipulator (-2)

Companions: N/A

Perks: Blank (-1), Shattered Limited (-1), Invictus (-1), Inspiration (-1), Cloak And Dagger (-1), Manpower (-1)

Complications: Markedx3 (+3), The Slaughterhouse is Hiring (+4)

Reincarnation Backstory: Jack Slash, somewhere in New Hampshire near Brockton Bay.

Hehehehehehe….

HAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHH!

WHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!

+S&amp;B+

I wake up with a start and look around in confusion, then two sets of memories settle into place, one which explains why I am here in this bed, the other explaining that I'm a fictional character.

Huh.

I wonder for an instant if I've been mastered, before the world seems to tilt on its side and invert as my power shifts and warps. I can feel the new power meshing with my second set of memories, my own power and old memories drowning in the ocean of power, fading, weakening, slipping away…

+S&amp;B+

Excellent. I'd hoped I'd win out over that of Jack's or should I say, old Jack's memories. See, the CYOA says that the memories are meshed flawlessly and the personality is set by me, and the powers are explained in my backstory as well, so my justification was that the memories come with the powers, making Jack Slash, me, not a _total_ monster, but rather a megalomaniacal one. My new memories and personality were carried over by the new powers.

Or at least that's my Watsonian explanation, and it's the one I'm sticking with since I'm now in my own story. At least I've got broken powers with which to power trip with.

Anyway, it's time for Jack Sash to save the world… "HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Uncle Jack, what's so funny? You aren't playing with anyone," a young girl's voice asks.

I sit up in bed, a faint trace of embarrassment from my second life on the edge of my awareness. It's a cute little girl with blue hair, blue eyes, healthy skin, and blood covered surgeon's scrubs.

"Nothing, just thinking about a wonderful idea I just had, my little Bonesaw," I tell her, reaching out with my power manipulation. Teacher could buff people while at the same time implanting subtle mind control, so why couldn't I do the same. Given the targets, I don't think most people would object. At least about that.

I send one of my ten charges into her power, slightly strengthening her tinker abilities while at the same time slaving it and it's user to my own power. Well, not exactly 'slaving,' more like a subtle control that helps makes them believe in me and what I say so that they will never turn against me.

Egregious violation of human rights? Absolutely. Valid targets? Hell yes.

I instinctively know that three of my Eidolon powers (which I'll now call Jackpot powers to avoid confusion and to stroke my new, magnificent ego since I'm _much_ better than Eidolon) are a stranger power to prevent my compatriots from suspecting or stopping me, a thinker power to locate my targets, and a teleportation power to instantly appear next to them.

I focus on Bonesaw for a moment. "Be a dear and gather everyone together, we need to have a family talk."

Bonesaw nods. "Okay Uncle Jack."

"Good girl," I tell as I ruffle her hair, before teleporting to Dr. Manton and tagging him with another of my Loyalty Power charges before repeating the process with the others over the course of a about a minute.

Make that 43 seconds. Thinker powers for the win!

With the Slaughterhouse now gathered around the living room the house we had commandeered, I began to lay out my play trusting in my Inspiration Perk and my eight Loyalty Power charges to help them go along with me.

"We are gods, my friends, my family," I say. "We belong at the top, but we have been played."

I looked around and saw their mix of curiosity and promise of violence. Siberian frowned, sitting on a chair. Actually, come to think of it, I might have to do more than just give them the power of loyalty. Maybe something to stop all the murdering. Meh, it could wait.

"The Simurgh has been using her powers to make us her tools, but gods are no tools. This realization has given me something I thought I would never have: a second Trigger." With that I levitat into the air as rainbow light swirled around me.

I saw Bonesaw frown. "But aren't second triggers supposed to be induced by long term suffering?"

Shatterbird frowned from where she sat perched on an armchair. "The why haven't we seen more?"

I snap my fingers, creating a thunderclap. "An important question, but not one we need to answer at the moment. What is important is that we fix this, and I have a way. I can now pick and choose any powers I want and am now as strong as Eidolon in a fight; no I am better, obviously. What's important now is that one of my powers has shown me a way to fix this and assert ourselves as the gods we are.

"Now I know that you think this life is enough, and frankly, it's great, but it's not enough, we deserve _more_, we _need_ more, and I'll tell you why. We are feared, as we should be, but we are not _respected_, _worshiped_ by those beneath us, the merely human, as we should be. We deserve their adoration for our greatness, each and every one of us, and that's what I plan on doing now. Making us once and for all the masters of this sandbox we call Earth so that we can reshape it to our whim, instead of playing by others' rules as we have with the Endbringers.

"Now you may question my logic in this, but think, they each have to power to kill all life on Earth several times over, so why don't they? Because they want to play with us. But are we toys? No! We are the Slaughterhouse Nine and we are no one's toys. They are _our_ toys, and we're going to remind every single person on or near this planet of that fact. And with my power I now know a way to kill all three Endbringers and make _our_ world come to fruition because we're going to be changing the rules, for all of them."

+S&amp;B+

I had managed to leverage my thinker powers into convincing the others into following my lead, in part because of my Loyalty power, and now we were preparing to go to our next destination: Brockton Bay.

I was busy packing my collection of knives and considering what to spend my last two Power Manipulation charges of the day on when Bonesaw came into my room, watching me carefully. The others were away and her caution seem odd. "What's wrong, Bonesaw?"

She stood there for a moment, tense, before saying, asking, "You're not Uncle Jack?" She tilted her head in curiosity. "You're behaving differently, and they are too. You did something to him, too us."

I crouch in front of her and look her in the eyes. "Not exactly, Riley… I'm newer, better. And I'll probably pick a different name soon, to help things along. Might change my body too."

She stands silently for a long time, studying me with her eyes and her implants. After a long silence, she nodded. "I can help with that."

"I'm glad for any help you can give me, Riley."

She shuffles her feet for a moment before looking around, checking if anyone else is nearby. "When you stop being Jack Slash, can I be someone else too?"

I shrug. "Want to do it yourself or do you want me to give you a shape shifter power?"

She grinned. "Both!"

+S&amp;B+

We watch the swarm of bugs get burned away by Lung as he quiet literally explodes, sending fire everywhere. His attacker tries to slip away, but Lung hears the sound of gravel being stepped on and leaps across the street and two stories up, slamming into the wall before he begins to climb the rest of the way to the roof.

"Showtime!"

The two of us teleport to the roof of the warehouse, Aegle next to the bug cape and me on the edge of the roof so that I can look down into Lung's eyes.

I smirk down at him. "So, you are the one they call Lung, the raging dragon man?" He growls and continues to climb up. "Well, I am Hyperion," I prepare five different blaster powers at once,

**_"AND I AM THE LIGHT OF JUSTICE!"_**

With that I unleash all five of my glowing bright blaster powers on him at once with an intensity brighter than the sun, slamming him into the ground with such force that the whole building shook, the night was temporarily banished, and a cloud of hot dust was sent into the air.

"Also known as Jack Slash," I quietly add.

I then teleport over to Taylor Hebert – though of course I'm not supposed to know that – and Aegle. She seems a bit shaken at the sudden rescue, so I hold out my glowing silver and white hand and introduce myself, "Hi, I'm Hyperion and this is my partner Aegle."

Aegle smiles, "You did a good job fighting him with your bugs, what's your name?"

Yes, I, Jack Slash Self Insert, am recruiting Skitter for my "superhero" team. Probably not the best thought out plan, but whatever, I'm not really seeing a problem with this.

+S&amp;B+

If one were to read Jack Slash's planner, they would find: (As a note, based on the Worm CYOA, Jack Slash has 10 Power Creation charges per day.)

Day 1: Loyalty Power (1) X 8 (Distributed to the rest of the Slaughterhouse Nine); Empower Jackpot Power X 2

Day 2: (Empathy Upgrade to all Loyalty Power holders and Hyperion [this last is a precaution against sliding back into EVIL]); Form and Clothing Shapeshifting (5) X 2 (1 Distributed to Bonesaw)

Day 3: Empower Jackpot Power X 8; Blink Teleportation (2) (Distributed to Aegle)

A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!

Readers: I'll need a good name for S&amp;B!Protagonist and Riley's seven new "superhero" teammates, do you have any suggestions?

Okay, so why did I pick The Slaughterhouse is Hiring? Well, I am in the Slaughterhouse, and it is hiring, and I'd say Jack considers himself interesting. It also balances out the fact that by picking Jack Slash I'm pretty much making myself (or rather my Jack Slash/SI hybrid) a huge target.

This is a humor story, and the S&amp;B!Jack Slash is now a "Good Guy," or at least as close as power-driven mind modification and the insertion of another life's memories can get. Also, please be aware that this character IS NOT ME AT ALL!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: For Great Justice!**_

Skitter-chan stood there silently, shy and taken off guard.

Well, if she's too shy to speak, how can we have a proper conversation?

Don't worry Taylor, Jack Slash will make this all better.

"My **Justice Senses **say she's shy and hasn't picked a cape name yet," I tell Aegle.

Aegle frowns behind her mask. "Hmm…well she looks kind of like Kamen Rider…"

I pause and consult the implant that connects my brain to the internet. Like Aegle I created it with my shapeshifting power and it ran on Windows Vista, the best operating system ever.

Just kidding, it's a custom one Aegle and Svarog made with the help of me and a tinker power of mine. After we made the first one, Aegle and I were able to use our shapeshifting to add in anything we wanted. Strictly speaking I don't need that, but I felt that using my shapeshifting to connect to the internet would be somewhat less excessive than using Jackpot to swap to a power that specifically connects me to the internet. And this way I don't have to worry about getting cookies or malware or whatever inside my brain or mind or wherever my powers exist exactly.

"I see what you mean," I told Aegle. "Clearly, she is **the Bug Rider**."

"Yes, and we can make her bugs big enough to actually ride on! That's perfect!" Aegle exclaimed.

"Excellent idea, but first we should introduce ourselves!"

"Right," Aegle cried out and she leapt up into the air and landed several feet away with one hand on her hip and the other in the air, fingers splayed. A soft golden light emanated from her skin and spandex-like bodysuit as wind dramatically played across her shimmering rainbow cape and blond hair. Her mask was a brilliant golden piece of tinker artifice which hugged her face but left her mouth free and made her eyes glow. Or maybe that was her shape shifter power, since we'd used it to make our costumes.

_**"I am Aegle, and I am THE LIFE RIDER!"**_

I stand proud, my silver armor of justice lighting up the night as myriad colors of light play across its surface. My best description of it is if you took a Spartan's armor, made it slightly sleeker, covered it in small reflective heptagonal surfaces that randomly glowed with a random color, and occasionally shot out multicolored lasers that didn't do anything except pose an eye hazard (though of course Tinker tech means that they probably don't). This was of course backed up by my literal cape of light, composed of an ever-shifting tapestry of visible and infrared light.

That's right; I'm a disco ball with one of those aurora screen savers as a cape.

**_"And I am Hyperion, THE LIGHT RIDER!"_**

Speaking in unison through the power of Telepathy, which I had switched in for one of my blaster power, we posed together, each with a fist in the air.

**_"And together we are the HEROIC RIDERS!"_**

Aegle then skipped up to Bug Rider's awed form before giggling and adding, "But we're pretty new to this whole superhero thing so we might change the name."

I teleported over to Bug Rider and Aegle in a flash of gaudy yet tasteful sparkles, and then nodded sagely before saying, "Indeed, but the name is not important, only the pursuit of **JUSTICE**."

"And with your help, we could pursue even more! And maybe even catch some so we can study and breed it!"

I gave Aegle a sharp look to which she shrugged and grinned.

Then the Bug Rider spoke: "Umm…what?"

"Exactly, what is justice, and how do we make more?" Aegle replied enthusiastically. "Are there different breeds of justice, can we make different, better versions? What about pizza? Is there pizza justice, where those facing the injustice of not having good pizza to eat get some? Is there a restaurant open this late where we can test that?"

"The only justice, is the justice [i]we[/i] make for ourselves and others," I solemnly declared.

"So can we go find somewhere to make ourselves some pizza justice, I'm surprisingly hungry."

"The hunger you feel, is the hunger for justice."

"Specifically, pizza justice."

I turn to focus on Bug Rider, looking deep into her soul with all of the intensity and gravity that I and my disco-rainbow armor can muster. "What say you, Bug Rider? Will you also partake in the pursuit of [i]pizza justice[/i]?"

She spent about a minute struggling to say anything while the Undersiders slipped away in the distance. I'd get to them later.

"What about Lung?" she finally asked.

"Armsmaster will be here shortly to apprehend him," I informed her, and already my thinker power and enhanced senses could pick up on his approaching motorcycle.

"Can we meet him?" she asked.

"Sure thing, Bug Rider," I agreed before teleporting the three of us down next to the crater that Lung was passed out inside. I had been careful to make sure that he would go down and stay down with the one hit. It wasn't very dramatic, but I had better things to do than fight him. "He'll be here any moment."

Armsmaster arrived and stopped his bike, looking at the massive smoking crater behind us. He warily aimed his halberd at us before I hailed him.

"Armsmaster of the Protectorate East North East!" I cried out. "I am Hyperion, and these are my heroic allies in the quest of justice, my dear friend Aegle, and our newfound friend Bug Rider, hero of justice!"

Armsmaster glanced at Bug Rider. "She doesn't look like hero."

She looked down at the ground for a moment. "It's not finished and it took a long time to make. By the time I realized it was edgier than I'd intended I'd already spent over a month on it."

"What I see when I look at her is a hero, and so long as she is a champion of [b]Justice[/b] her appearance is irrelevant," I said, defending her costume.

Armsmaster set his halberd against his shoulder. "So you're a new hero team? I haven't heard of any of you before."

I nod. "We three are all new to being heroes, but fear not! Aegle and I will explain the specifics of the cape business to Bug Rider while you apprehend the foul fiend Lung!"

Armsmaster stiffened. "Lung is here?"

"Yes," Aegle said, "the brave Bug Rider valiantly fought against him and his thugs with only her control over bugs until we arrived and Hyperion could subdue him!"

"He said he was going to kill kids," she explained sheepishly.

I set a hand on her shoulder. "And you did admirably Bug Rider, you have saved lives today."

"Thank you, but…my name's not Bug Rider."

"Of course, but you're free to choose another name later," I told her.

"He's right," Armsmaster said. "While it is rarely done, if you want to change your cape name just let the PRT know so we can keep up to date."

"Okay," she said.

"Armsmaster," I said, redirecting the conversation, "we already have prior plans, but Lung should be unconscious for the next few hours and has been injected with venom from various local insects. I trust you will secure him?"

He nodded. "Yes, but please stop by the Protectorate HQ soon for evaluation and filling out the relevant paperwork for independent heroes."

I nod back agreeably. "Of course, I'd love to visit the PHQ. Good bye."

Aegle waved at Armsmaster ad said "See ya later Halbeard!" while Bug Rider waved uncertainly.

And then we teleported to a four star twenty-four hour pizzeria using two jackpot powers: Teleport and Path to Pizza. I walked up to the counter and used another power to summon non-sequential dollar bills from people I wouldn't mind taking money from. Jackpot powers are really convenient.

"Yes!" Aegle cried out as her stomach rumbled. "Finally! Now let's go eat FOR GREAT PIZZA JUSTICE!"

And lo, great pizza justice was had.

+S&amp;B+

We showed Taylor the faces of our Heroic Rider identities and took her home with a teleport, after which we went back to the lair that I'd made for us in the Boat Graveyard. With these powers, I probably didn't need sleep, but it was the only way to recharge my Power Manipulation charges so I went to my room and fell asleep. Tomorrow was going to be fun.

+S&amp;B+

The lot was empty save for some trash bins and rubble. What made it notable aside from the likely unique pattern of cracked asphalt was the presence of a major Merchant base.

The Merchants forced people to take their drugs and get addicted to them. They were parasites, and in their way they were just as valid targets as the Empire Eighty-Eight. They have capes, which makes it even better. Unfortunately I have other things to do, so I leave dealing with the Merchants in the trust hands of some of the other members of our Superhero group.

I appeared with the imposing Mars standing tall in his Grecian Hoplite armor; bone white Morrigan who stood casually smirking while wearing a domino mask, tight black tank top and formfitting black sweatpants; and Aphrodite wearing flowing white rode and a white porcelain mask that covered the top half of her face.

I clapped my hands. "Okay kids, have fun, but not too much," I said giving Morrigan a firm look to which she sheepishly shrugged, "don't start fights with the heroes," I looked at Mars, "and make sure that all of the parahumans are alive for me when this is over."

"We've got this," Mars growled.

"Good," I said before turning to Aphrodite. "I'm trusting you to look after them, so make sure they don't have too much sugar and play nice with the other, okay?"

She rolled her eyes behind her mask. "Yes, _dad_."

"Good, now I'm off to see your brother and his friends, want me to say hi?"

She smirked. "Definitely."

I departed just as the Merchants stared coming out and Mars roared as he transformed into his war form.

+S&amp;B+

I appeared in front of a warehouse and knocked on the door. While I waited, I transformed out of my costume and into a nondescript half-Asian-half-Hispanic young man with baggy blue jeans, a loose red t-shirt, a brown beanie, a large gold chain necklace with a clock on it so I could tell the time, and mirror shades to hide the empty black voids where my eyes should be.

After about a minute a fit young black man named Brain and a squarish-faced girl named Rachel came to the door backed up by some of her dogs.

I held up a hand in greeting. "'sup guys."

+S&amp;B+

A/N: It's taken a while but here's another part of Jack Slash's quest to save the world with his incredibly broken powers.

Subtlety, thy name is Jack Slash.

+S&amp;B+


	3. Chapter 3

**Slash and Burn: A Worm CYOA SI**

**Chapter 3: It's All about Your Perspective ****_of Justice!_**

Taylord, the Bug Rider:

She sat in the booth and looked across at the heroes that were eating their meal. It was still hard for her to believe that she was sitting across from a new hero team and eating pizza on her first night out as a cape. Maybe it was the fact that it was almost three AM, but it felt like a dream to her. After all, Hyperion had taken down Lung, who had fought off entire superhero teams in the past, in a single blast and then turned around and offered her, a random rookie cape, a place on his team. She didn't appreciate the nickname, but it wasn't exactly awful compared to the options she had already considered. That did not mean that there was any chance that she would keep the name "Bug Rider" if she had the choice, however.

Hyperion's helmet had folded back so that his lower face was exposed, allowing him to eat pizza. From what Taylor could tell, he had the square jaw of a classical male hero's physique. After he finished chewing, he looked at Taylor thoughtfully. "You know," he said, "if you have any questions about the whole cape game, you're free to ask."

Taylor, who has wearing a domino mask that Hyperion had conjured, nodded, before a thought occurred to her. "You said you were new to being heroes, but you're not new to the cape scene. So you used to be…what?"

Hyperion sighed and Aegle looked down at her plate, now somber instead of cheerful. "We used to be villains. We would travel around the country doing odd jobs and the like, stirring up a little trouble." Taylor drew in her breath sharply, suddenly uncertain about being near them. "But, we had a change of heart. Now we want to make up for our less than glorious pasts by fixing the world. You've seen what Brockton Bay is like," he continued, gesturing outwards to indicate the city, "the whole world is in decline and if people like us don't step up…it's a sort of open secret, but there are actual concrete estimates on how much longer society has if something doesn't change. Conservative estimates say about fifteen years, and more generous ones say thirty."

Taylor frowned. "You became a hero to stop that?"

"In part, but I've also come to understand the impact of my less than illustrious past has had on people, and I've learned that it's much more satisfying helping people. That's another reason why I want to use my powers to help people. That fact that my powers have begun to skyrocket in what they're capable of since I made that decision have also helped."

Aegle nodded, grinning. "Before, he was pretty limited in what he could do, but now he can teleport, shoot lasers and give people powers! He even made me a better Tinker and gave me a shape shifter power so if I think of a blueprint, I can now _become_ that!"

"You could say I'm powered by being a hero," Hyperion said with a slight smirk.

Taylor looked down at her plate. She wasn't sure she felt comfortable with the idea that they used to be villains, but they weren't so bad anymore. But, she needed to know who they were. "Who did you used to be?"

Hyperion smiled and gestured to Aegle. "She was my kid tinker sidekick," he said, ruffling her still-glowing hair. "Our old crew had a few other members with various powers, but I wouldn't say any of us were big time. Mainly I was a thinker, able to read other capes near me. That's how I stayed out of trouble with the PRT for so long, I was able to keep my crew out of trouble. I'd rather put my past behind me and not bring up the name of my old identity if you don't mind, but I will tell you the powers of the rest of our group: There's Mars, who can change between a normal man a giant unstoppable monster, Morrigan, a brute, Svarog, another tinker, Aphrodite, a master with the ability to influence emotion, Hercules, a brute with a power nullification effect, Sekhmet, a pyrokinetic, and Ninlil, a shaker with power over a variety of things which she uses to help her fly."

"And they were all villains?" Taylor asked.

Hyperion nodded. "Yes, we're committed to reforming. I think you would be a good addition to the team, but I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable by having you work with ex-villains." He paused. "I suppose I should also note that I plan on recruiting more people with similar pasts, help them find more productive pursuits."

Taylor drew in a deep breath. "I need time to think about this. It's a lot to take in at once."

"I understand, takes as much time as you need," he said. "But even if you say now, we'd be happy meet up with you any time, either for 'work' or just hanging out like this."

"Yeah, and it'll be super exciting, just think about what we could do together! Tinkered super bugs! With combat tentacles and jet packs!"

"Um…Thanks."

+S&amp;B+

Jack Slash:

Grue and Bitch weren't too happy to see me, but that was okay. "I want to talk shop with you guys, make a job offer."

Brian paused, tense. "What?"

I nodded and looked Rachel in the eyes. "I'm here representing a group called Elohim. We're looking to recruit valuable parahumans."

Rachel and her dogs growled. "Why should we listen to you?"

"Because we'll pay well, and we're about to take down your boss."

"What?" Brian demanded/repeated.

"Your boss is a disgusting monster who is currently planning on kidnapping a child precog and forcing her to work for him by drugging her," I informed them. "This is not something we will tolerate happening in this city. Two of our members, Hyperion and Aegle already took down Lung, and you can expect the other two ABB capes to be nonissues by the end of the week."

Brian glanced at Rachel, who I was still staring down. "Who are you?" he asked me.

I smiled replied without looking away from my staring contest (complicated by my mirror shades and lightless pits for eyes), "Shoggoth, but you can call me Neil since you're in your civilian identities."

"Shoggoth?" he asked.

I replied by growing giant green tentacles covered in mouths and eyes out of my back. I retracted them when Rachel's dogs attacked me and they started growing as her power worked on them, but I otherwise ignored them. I continued my staring contest and after a moment Rachel whistled to call the dogs off and I regrew my clothes. Super shape shifting powers are utterly ridiculous like that, but I manage to live with that power somehow, one day at a time.

"Right," Brian said.

I hummed in agreement and rocked on my heels idly.

"Let's move this inside," he said eventually, gesturing me to head in.

I nodded and walked in, Rachel and Brian following behind me at a respectable distance. I would have called it safe, but when my power manipulation power used five charges to give me a shape shifter power, it created one that was effectively a 12 on the PRT's threat rating system. This meant that since about a 10 was enough to abandon a city over, I had a disguise power strong enough to be worth writing off the entire state of New Jersey over, though I don't think anyone would consider it a big loss.

Eventually we made our way up into the Undersiders' loft. Alex was lazing on one of the couches and Lisa was sitting at the table, eating cereal and pouring over her computer. When I opened the door she looked up mid-bite, and her mouth dropped open, letting her spoon fall to the floor.

"How would you like that gun against your head removed?" I asked her, since it seemed like no one else was quite ready to start a conversation yet.

"What?" Brian asked/repeated again.

"Like I said, your boss is a monster and he recruited Lisa here by literally putting a gun to her head," I explained.

"You're taking him out? Today?" Lisa asked in a mixture of incredulity and hope.

"And offering you all jobs, since you'll be out of them soon."

"You're with Hyperion and Aegle," Lisa said, a vulpine smile spreading on her face.

"The team name's Elohim," I informed her. "And we plan on ending villainy in this city."

Lisa's eyes widened. "You think you can do it too…you actually can!"

Alec sat up. "So we either join you hero team or you take us in?"

I shrugged. "You don't have to join, but we know what you each want and we can help you get that." I pointed at Alex, since he was the last to speak. "You want power, prestige, comfort and safety from your father? We have tinkers and a matter creating and shaping shaker who can help with that." I pointed at Lisa. "You want to be free to make your own choices and show you're the smartest person in the room? We could use a powerful thinker to help organize and run things." Her eyes widened again before I pointed at Brian. "You want your sister in your care and away from your parents? When we seize Coil's assets with Tattletale's help we can make that happen, easy." I pointed to Rachel. "You want to take care of your dogs without having to worry about social weirdness? We can set you up with a fully equipped shelter for as many dogs as you want, and you won't be the most socially awkward among us by far."

Lisa was the first to speak. "You come in off the street and want to put me in charge?"

I shake my head. "You'll be Head of Intelligence, and probably Strategic Resources until we recruit Accord."

"You're recruiting Accord?" she asked. "For his Thinker power," she answered herself.

I nodded. "Well, if you can answer for me, should I go?"

"I thought you needed – oh, you expect me to convince them. Sure, call back in a few hours."

I waved her good bye and left them to their own devices. That's the thing about know-it-all Thinkers, they can argue your side or the argument and their own at the same time. It saves time, even if you can make dozens of fully powered clones of yourself on a whim. Shoggoth eats, he does not work.

+S&amp;B+

Sophia Hess:

Sophia leaned against the wall, waiting outside Mr. Gladly's classroom with Emma and the rest of their hangers on while the worm Taylor Hebert spoke with Mr. Gladly. Emma wanted to ambush her, but a new kid, this weird, energetic blond girl named Riley something was standing inside with her. Apparently the new kid had made the poor decision to be friends with Hebert. Neither Emma nor Sophia would stand for that.

When the two can out, Emma had formed a loose ring blocking them in and they started the usual tactic of badmouthing Hebert while pretending to ignore her. When she tried to get through, no one got out of her way, so she just stood there and waited like the prey she was.

Sophia watched as something hardened in the new kid's eyes, even though she kept up her cheery demeanor. The new kid firmly grabbed Hebert's arm and pushed her way through the ring, showing the followers out of the way and leading Hebert off somewhere.

Sophia growled and followed, Emma following.

Eventually the new kid led them to an unused classroom on the third floor. Sophia moved to block the only entrance and exit of the room, seeing the two standing in the center of the room, the new kid looking at her with that bright smile she seemed to constantly wear.

The new kid waved. "Hi there, Sophia! Since you were following us I thought we could get to know each other."

Sophia warily approached, she could tell that there was something dangerous about the new kid. "Oh yeah?"

"Yep!" the new kid replied cheerily. "I'll start: I like having fun and my friends not being bullied."

Sophia scowled. "Why do you care? She's pathetic."

The new kid's smile shrank slightly, changing tone slightly and her eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint entering them. Her body was loose and Sophia could tell that she knew how to fight. "I care because she's my friend. And like my Uncle Jack said, 'you have to give people the respect they deserve.' Taylor deserves respect, and I wanted to give you the chance to earn some," she said cheerily.

Sophia growled, aware that Taylor and Emma were both watching. She couldn't back down or she'd look weak, like prey. She lunged at the new kid, using her training and experience to lash out, but almost before she could react the new kid had her arm and was swinging her over her head. Sophia had to stop herself from phasing out of the new kids grip when she was slammed into the ground and a shoe heel set against her throat, again before she could react.

Sophia glared up at the new kid, who was still smiling brightly. "You should get more practice, but that's okay. If you ever need help I'd be more than happy too." The way she was smiling and the eager look in her eyes sent a shiver down Sophia's spine. She wanted to phase out of the girl's grip at teach her a lesson, but that would reveal her identity as Shadow Stalker. And there was a tiny part of her mind which said that this girl would be dangerous even if Sophia fought her as a cape. Sophia glared up at the girl as she shoved down that part of herself. She would get revenge on the new girl for making her look weak.

The girl let Sophia go and turned to Hebert, dismissing Sophia utterly. "Let's go eat somewhere else, Taylor," she said, taking Hebert's hand.

Sophia rolled to her feet, ignoring her aches form the throw as the two walked towards the door. Silently snarling she quietly approached the two from behind. When they neared the door, Sophia sent a vicious kick at the back of the new girl's knee, but she managed to twist out of the way. Sophia sent a punch to the girl's face, ready for her grab, but instead the girl dodged out of the way and sent a quick jab at Sophia's extended elbow before grabbing her throat and slamming Sophia against the doorframe.

With her free hand, the new girl wagged her finger in Sophia's face. "No! Uncle Jack told us that you're not supposed to do that sort of thing in public," she scolded.

Sophia moved to kick her knee and break the hold, but before she could do anything the new girl's free hand formed a fist and hit Sophia's forehead hard, bouncing her head off of the door frame.

"Hurting people just because you don't like them or just to make yourself feel better is wrong," the girl explained. Then she let go of Sophia, allowing her to slump against the door frame. "Come on Taylor!"

+S&amp;B+

Jack Slash:

I teleported to Trickster, who was out of costume and in his team's apartments. He was sitting on a couch and the rest of his team (except Noelle) were there with him. I was in my Hyperion guise with Hercules in his bronze colored armor, lion skin and giant two handed axe on his shoulder. "Hello, Krause. How would you like a cure for Noelle and a way back to Earth Aleph?"

Predictably, the Travelers all jumped to their feet in shock at my awe inspiring appearance.

"You…what?" he managed to ask after overcoming his obvious amazement at having _me_ come to him of all people. I was glad he'd gotten over it so quickly. If it had gone on too long it could have gotten awkward, and then I'd have to use my bullshit powers to level the building and then rebuild it and everyone inside so I could do the whole thing over.

My powers could probably actually do that, come to think of it.

"Everything you and your team wants? I can give it to you," I explained.

"What's the catch?" Sundancer asked, halfway in her costume for some reason.

"I am Hyperion," I needlessly explained so that they could hear my mellifluous voice, "and I am the leader of the new group Elohim. Our goal is to end villainy, make the worlds better places to live, and ensure JUSTICE!" I shouted the last word loud enough to make them all jump in the surprised joy of the good news. "And I want to recruit you. Parahumans have a natural desire to use their powers, so Elohim intends to provide constructive environments for parahumans to use them without resorting to villainy."

"If you know we want to go back, then you should know that I want to leave this life behind me," she replied.

"Yes, well I'd prefer if you joined. You'll be free to travel home whenever you wish, you'll get excellent pay and benefits, and you'll be in on the ground floor of the new worlds order."

"What?" Krouse asked. I'd already heard that enough from Brian, but in my infinite wisdom and mercy, I allowed it.

"Parahuman powers are reshaping the world, and they were already showing up in Aleph when you left and the number has been slowly increasing there ever since," I explained. "Even without the Endbringers, society is going to go through radical changes as time progresses and capes have greater and greater impact. Already villains outnumber heroes here, and the same basic reasons behind that will happen on Earth Aleph eventually as well. The standard societal dynamics can't survive an era where individuals or small groups can effectively stand off against entire armies. Elohim intends to be an answer to that growing problem."

"By building a cape empire?" Sundancer asked.

"Not if we can help it," I replied. "We merely intend on making our services and role in society indispensable. All of your powers would be incredibly valuable in helping improve the lives of people everywhere."

"I'm not joining some megalomaniac with visons of empire," Genesis replied. "I just want to leave this life behind."

Hercules growled but I held up my hand. "Alright, I'm not a megalomaniac – my views of myself are entirely accurate – and I'd prefer if you joined our superhero team, but as long as you leave behind your current life of villainy that's acceptable. If you ever change your mind, you can always contact us later."

"But you can cure her?" Trickster asked with desperate hope in his voice.

"I already did." I snapped my fingers and Noelle appeared, fully human, beside me wearing a loose denim shirt and blue jeans that someone would probably be missing later.

She smiled at seeing her boyfriend. "Krause!" she said, already moving towards him.

"Noelle!" he cried out in joy as he wrapped her in a tight hug.

They stayed like that for a while, neither of them willing to let each other go.

"Well, the Empire Eighty-Eight's European friends have an appointment that they will Nazi coming, so I should get going. We'll be in touch."

+S&amp;B+

In the middle of Africa, Sekhmet and I appeared in the midst of a swirling storm of fire. I grinned and the pitch black figure in front of us. An injection of Loyalty, Empathy and Translingualism, and we were ready to roll. "Hello…"

+S&amp;B+

I teleported into a brick-walled courtyard along with Sekhmet, Ninlil, Hercules, Svarog and our newest member, Montu. Sekhmet and Montu were both concealed by shimmering hazes of heat and swirling sparks as they held hands. Ninlil was inside a giant angel of broken glass and shards of metal, and by angel I mean the old Kabbalistic kind that look like eldritch abominations with lots of mouths and eyes and alien geometry. Hercules had his axe and club strapped to his back and had a Tinker-tech minigun in his hands. Svarog was in a large, heavy bipedal suit of powered armor that was about six meters tall with energy guns and missile launchers.

I clapped my hands together. "Well, like I said before, Nazis are acceptable targets so feel free to go to town, but remember that we want to save the kids and any of the parahumans Svarog thinks we can turn. Good luck and have fun."

I teleported away as fire, glass, bullets and lasers exploded out across the Gesselshaft compound.

+S&amp;B+

I appeared in a battle scarred lot, Armsmaster, Assault, Battery and Miss Militia standing before Aphrodite.

"Don't try mastering me, I can tell when you try," Armsmaster growled.

"Sorry, I didn't mean too," Aphrodite replied insincerely.

"And I can tell when you lie."

"Hello, everyone!" I interrupted. They all turned to me. "How are things?"

Before anyone could answer, a multilimbed monstrosity exploded out from one of the nearby buildings, several people in its grip. "Crawler!" Armsmaster shouted, aiming his halberd.

"No, no! He goes by Mars, he's a Changer!" I shouted, trying to keep a fight from breaking out with the Protectorate. I didn't want to have one on the first day that we had made ourselves public. That would be all kinds of awkward.

"He's on our team," Aphrodite added.

Armsmaster paused and lowered his halberd slightly. "What are you doing here anyway?" he asked.

"We're attacking a Merchant's base," Aphrodite explained. "We were hoping to catch one of their parahumans, but I'm not sure that's happened."

At that moment, Morrigan chose to leapt through a wall – leaving a her-shaped hole in it – to join the conversation. "Hello, Morrigan," I said. "Did you find Skidmark?"

She nodded and pointed inside. I could make out a groaning form on the rubble-covered floor.

"Right." I turned to Armsmaster and gestured towards the fallen villain. "One villain, ready to face justice."

He nodded brusquely before looking around at the warzone which the whole block had become. It hadn't been in good shape before, and now most of the Merchants had either been chased off of incapacitated, so it was probably an improvement. "Given the level of collateral damage your team has caused, I'd recommend you visit our headquarters today."

I nodded agreeably as Mars casually dropped the Merchants had had been holding onto the pavement. "We'd be happy too, but right now some of our members are a bit busy."

"I only heard of one massive cape fight today," Assault said.

"Yes, well, they're off in another city actually," I explained. "They aren't here because most of them are somewhat more destructive in their methods."

Assault looked around and then back at me incredulously. "Will the city still be standing afterwards?"

"Most of it will; they're only after the Nazis after all."

"Who are they attacking?" Miss Militia asked concernedly, likely hoping to alert the local authorities so they could help stamp out the acceptable targets.

"Gesselshaft."

"In Germany?" she asked incredulously.

"I can teleport groups," I said by way of explanation.

"Well," Assault said exuberantly, "I guess they did _Nazi_ it coming." He then cried out when Battery hit him.

"No," I said. "No, that was terrible. I'm sorry, but that was physically painful to hear. Frankly, after hearing that I'm Fuehrerious."

Battery groaned. "Not another one, we already have two of them."

"Really?" Aphrodite asked incredulously. "I thought it was Hitlerious."

"Damn it."

+S&amp;B+

A/N: I'm using the name Elohim for Jack Slash Insert's "hero" team. It reflects his incredible humility.

+S&amp;B+


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note****: Sorry it's been a bit late and this one is short, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! **

**Replies to Reviews:**

WarmasteSamiel: Thank you! I will say Hercules is definitely not Hatchetface, the fact that their powers and appearances are the same is not relevant at all.

Ghest: Thank you, too! There aren't many puns in this chapter, but Regent does his level best to make up for it.

Selkor: Riley is having fun being a hero! And she's happy Uncle Jack's bring in more people have have with them too!

Lord Sia: Yes, you could say that Jack's _pun_ishing crime.

guest: They are the Slaughterhouse Nine, despite their new mission. You'll be seeing more of their personalities shine through as they get more screen time. It just made sense to Jack to change their costumes and upgrade or otherwise modify their powers in order to both make them stronger and help them distance themselves from some of the most notorious villains on Earth Bet.

* * *

_**Chapter 4: When Justice Comes Knocking**_

Given the fact that "Acts of Parahumans" are covered by insurance and no one actually cared about the parts of town run by the Merchants and their ilk, we were able to slip away none the wiser to our totally above board motives. The fact we brought Squealer along with us wasn't really important enough to tell Armsmaster.

A quick inoculation of Loyalty later and she was ready to be left in the tender care of Aegle's pets.

I took a moment to take in our glorious lair. Sure it looked a lot like an abandoned freighter's hold, and it technically was, but that didn't mean it wasn't grand. It was very hobo-chique with its peeling paint and the moldy furniture that hadn't been stolen yet for some reason. I'm sure the rat I saw scuttling through the hand-size rusted hole in the hull agreed with me.

I turned back to Squealer to see Morrigan slinking up to her and sensuously taking Squealer's hand. "No Morrigan," I admonished, "no finger snacks."

Morrigan pouted but let go of Squealer's hand.

"Good girl, we'll be stopping by Coil's place soon. Maybe you can get something there," I offered.

Morrigan gave a brilliant grin and clapped her hands in excitement.

"I thought the point of this was to steal his minions and stuff," Aphrodite objected. She hesitated and then added, "You, to be batter heroes and stuff."

I offered a shrug. "Well, it's not like we need all of his minions, and it'll make Morrigan happy."

Mars chuckled amiably from where he was lounging in his war form inside the cargo hold. His laughter causing droplets of extremely powerful acid to fly from his mouth and land on the rusted walls and floor to begin burning holes in them; I noted that I'd have to look into a way to make our magnificent new lair acid resistant. "You know, this superhero thing is easier and funner than I thought it'd be."

"I aim to please," I replied amicably. "Anyway, we should probably get going. I imagine Lisa's either finished arguing with herself or they're distracted enough for us to make an appropriate entrance."

Cher-Aphrodite smiled in anticipation. "I've been waiting to see him again!"

"Remember that the entrance is the most important part," I told her.

"Yeah, yeah, I've got this."

+S&amp;B+

Lisa was sitting at their kitchen table, her head in her hands and a glass of water and a bottle of pain killers before her. Brain was pacing back and forth anxiously, and Rachel was scowling beside her dogs. Alec was sprawled on one of the couches playing video games.

Suddenly, Morrigan, Aphrodite and I appeared in front of the television, posing heroically. I had my right foot forward and my right hand held in a fist in the air as my shining silvery armor reflected brightly enough to cause Rachel to squint and Brian to flinch. Morrigan had her feet planted on the floor and waved jazz hands at the Undersiders. Aphrodite gave Alec a brilliant smile and cried out, "Onii-chan!" She then jumped onto Alec's couch and hugged him. "Ça va?"

"Cherie?" He asked in what sounded like mild surprise, but for him was the equivalent of slack jawed shock, "What are you doing here?"

Aphrodite sat back against the opposite side of the couch while Morrigan slunk sensuously over towards Rachel with a small smile. "Well," Aphrodite, or as she was known in her civilian and pre-Slaughterhouse Nine days, Cherie, said, "after you left, it became clear that Dad too unfocused to actually take over the criminal underworld of Montreal like he could with all of us and instead took ten of us to kidnap an actress from Vancouver just so he could bone someone famous. I got fed up, left."

Alec looked between us. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say he sent someone after you, causing you to shake up with these guys."

Cherie shrugged as she lounged back on the couch, trying to push Alec's feet out of the way and pouting when he caused her feet to twitch off the couch completely. "Dad sent Guillame and Nicholas. Guillaume just has to touch someone and he can sense everything they do for a good while. Nicholas just wallops you with pants-shitting waves of terror. Literally thousands of eyes and ears looking for me, can't fight when they do get close to me."

"Right," he said.

"How did you end up with him?" Brian asked her. He was standing firm with a hand blocking the glare form my reflective armor while Rachel was apparently relaxed while Morrigan pet her dogs. Lisa was staring into the bottle of pain killers before tearing her gaze away from it to take in the situation.

Cherie turned her gaze to Brian and smiled as her eyes wandered. "Well…" she trailed off for a moment.

I snapped my fingers. "Less shipping, more exposition. Wait, what am I saying?"

She straightened. "Uh, right. Anyways, it got old _real_ fast, them constantly finding me, constantly making me pack up and run somewhere else. Besides, the freedom to do what I wanted and go where I wished kind of lost its appeal when the boredom set in. I would've done it even if my big brothers weren't coming for me, but I joined the – Elohim," she said, correcting herself at the last moment. "Being a superhero is swell; gee whiz."

Lisa wasn't the only one to narrow her eyes at that. It seemed I had underestimated them or missed some sort of hidden thinker power, because all of them, even Rachel, found that suspicious.

I clapped my hands. "Well, as I'm sure Shoggoth has already told you, you need to make you decision now. Are you with Elohim, Earth's mightiest heroes, or are you retiring?"

"I'd have to put up with my sister," Alec said, causing Cherie to cry out in objection, "but I suppose a big enough pay check can alleviate that."

"That's why we're going after Coil, so we can liberate his stuff," I explained.

Alec shrugged and looked at the others. Rachel scowled and replied, "The Protectorate wants to arrest us."

"They also want to arrest Cherie for being a villain and a member of the Slaughterhouse Nine," Lisa pointed out from where she sat, tense. "And unless I'm wrong, which I never am-" Alec scoffed and Lisa shot him a glare before pointing at Morrigan and continuing, "That's Siberian dressed up in some Celtic themed armor."

Morrigan pointed at herself in a perfect picture of innocent shock for a zebra striped woman dressed as a Celtic goddess of war and death. It was as if she was silently saying, "Who, me?"

"Yes, you," Lisa replied. She turned to me and demanded, "Seriously, how many of your people former Slaughterhouse Nine members?"

I shrugged. "A few." If by 'a few' you mean 'most.'

"Shit, and you expect us to work with them!?"

"There's no way I'm working with the Slaughterhouse Nine!" Brian declared, stepping back as darkness started to flow from his skin.

I held up my hands placatingly. "Please, calm down. We aren't the Slaughterhouse Nine," anymore, "we're a hero team called Elohim that wants to make the world a better, more interesting place."

"Yeah, we're not the bad guys here," Cherie added without looking up from the stolen smart phone she'd pulled out, she hadn't quite gotten the hang of being a hero yet unlike me, "I mean, you're the self-professed villains. We just came here after taking down the Merchants. All of them."

"An impressive accomplishment," Alec sarcastically remarked. Cherie kicked him, and he made her drop her stolen phone. "Joining the Slaughterhouse Nine? That was dumb."

"It was _exciting_," she countered, clearly helping her case to join us superheroes. "But, um, nothing compares to being a good guy?"

"I'm certainly a believer now."

"Shut up, Jean-paul."

"Cherie," I chided, "we're heroes."

"I know," Cherie objected, "I'm just exercising my right to be innately superior to the villainous scum." She gestured to the other end of the couch, where Alec flipped her off before leaning around me so he could continue playing his video game.

I turned to the wary Lisa and Brian in order to explain myself. "I'm giving them a second chance. Perhaps not to make up for their past crimes, but to be a part of building a better future, a future where justice, freedom and liberty reign supreme!" The television screen behind me switched from Alec's FPS game to a large American flag fluttering in the breeze.

Morrigan clapped encouragement.

"Fuck, my game!" Alec cried out.

"Oops, sorry," I apologized before the screen switched back to show that Alec's character had died in the meantime.

"If this keeps happening I'm going to need danger pay."

"Maybe," I replied to Alec. I turned back to Lisa and Brian. "So, I know this isn't terribly impressive, but they're under control and aren't going to hurt you unless you're a villain or an acceptable target, like the Nazis. We've got great pay and peerless health coverage for our members, and you get in on the ground floor of the greatest superhero team that will ever exist."

"Bonesaw –" Lisa started to object.

"Aegle is an excellent surgeon who will only operate on team members in accordance with their contract and their fully informed consent," I corrected.

"And for the people who aren't on your team?" Brian asked.

"Well, we're heroes, so obviously we don't do anything that isn't acceptable for heroes to do," I said. "I mean, it's not like there are heroes going around killing people or controlling governments or kidnapping people or anything, so why would Aegle or Svarog operate on non-team members. Well, they do have some cybernetic assistants, but it's nothing you need to worry about."

Lisa swallowed, her face pale. "Right. How about we negotiate those contracts?"

+S&amp;B+

Coil sat in his dimly lit office, brooding as any proper Bond villain wannabe should. Well, okay, he's better than just a wannabe, he'd be a convincing Bond villain. The point is, he's sitting there at his desk, looking through his files and filling out paperwork, but not just any paperwork, _eeeeviiil_ paperwork. Well, evil_er_ paperwork, anyway.

And then suddenly the shining light of **_JUSTICE!_** appeared, blinding the foolishly foul fiend. As he shielded his eyes he could just barely make out several mighty and imposing figures, with the most magnificent of all standing proudly in the center, gleaming like the silver light of Sailor Moon's attacks, with one hand raised to point at him.

And then this magnificent figure spoke: "Hey, sexy."

There was a moment of awestruck silence at this beatific pronouncement.

"Wait, shit, shit, shit. I did _not_ mean to say that. Can we do this over?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I thought that was pretty good," said one of them wearing a Venetian mask and dressed like a Renaissance faire reject. Regent.

"Yeah, I liked it too, boss," a female voice familiar in its perpetual smugness added. Tattletale.

She'd called someone else 'boss?' Someone who could teleport an entire team right into his office. Coil clenched his fists in a mixture of anger and fear, because to him this was utterly unacceptable. Then he twitched.

"Looks like we can't cancel this anyway," Tattletale said. "I think I just blew his brains out in his other timeline."

"Um, do we really have to kill him?" an uncertain voice asked as Coil noticed a faint buzzing growing louder. He still couldn't see clearly and so continued to blink his eyes clear as he scrambled for his closest gun, the one strapped under his desk. "I mean, shouldn't we bring him in?"

"No, this is completely necessary," Tattletale replied. "If we turn him in, Hyperion might get some money form the spoils system if he registers first, but the only way can fund ourselves adequately is if we kill the bastard and keep it quiet until we control his assets. And all of that aside, he's an evil bastard and after everything he's put me through I deserve to be the one to dispense 'justice' here." His fingers closed around the pistol's handle. It wouldn't be much, but hopefully he'd at least have the satisfaction of killing that traitorous bitch. "Oh no you don't. Morrigan? Oh, and you should go outside to help the others."

Something tore through his desk with ease, picked him up and slammed him into the concrete floor of his partially finished lair. He hadn't even gotten a chance to name it yet. He'd been considering 'snake pit,' or perhaps something baroque.

"What's your name anyway?" Tattletale asked the other cape.

"I…haven't decided yet."

"Well," Regent said, "you use bugs, so how about bugg-"

"No!" Tattletale interrupted. "Just, you two get out of here. I've got business to attend too." There was a pause. "Yes, yes, the business of _justice_, I know."

Coil's vision had finally cleared, but now all he saw was the floor he was being pressed face first into. He desperately tried to do something, anything, but when he tried to split the timelines he found that power gone. He struggled, but the cape that was holding him down was absolutely unmovable, undoubtedly a Brute of some kind. He could feel her legs pinning his with just enough pressure to not be uncomfortable as her pelvis pressed his back into the floor and she held his hands with one of her own while holding his head against the floor with the other.

He heard soft footsteps come up beside him and he saw out of the corner of his left eye the distinctive lavender spandex of Tattletale's costume. She crouched beside him and gestured at the cape, Morrigan, that was holding him down. His head was gently, almost lovingly twisted so that he was forced to look at Tattletale, who was sporting a wide, smug grin. "Hey, boss," she said as she played with the gun in her hand, "I'm here to file my resignation. See, this guy came and he had a better offer, a much better offer in fact." The handgun ended up pointing at the ground uncomfortably close to his masked face.

"Listen –" he started to say but with a gesture from Tattletale, the grip holding him became painfully tight and he cried out in pain before the pressure receded.

Tattletale's vulpine smile took on a vicious, predatory edge. "Yeah, you see, not only does it come with better pay and benefits such as not having a gun pointed at my head, but it comes with something extra special." She gestured with her gun at the cape holding Coil down. "Her name's Morrigan. But I think you know her better by another name…" Tattletale paused, drawing the moment out as her predatory smile grew wider still, "…Siberian."

Even though he was pinned, Coil froze in dawning horror. "You…you're insane!"

Tattletale leaned her head back and laughed hysterically. "Insane!? No, you haven't even begun to know the meaning!" She looked to Morrigan, no, the Siberian. "Want to say hi?"

The inescapable grip shifted as the Siberian, now dressed in some kind of armor, turned Coil over. However, it wasn't the new look that drew his attention; it was the hungry smile on her face.

+S&amp;B+

A/N:That's the spirit, Lisa!

+S&amp;B


End file.
